Afghanistan's Karzai Will Visit U.S.

Published 8:00 pm, Wednesday, January 2, 2002

Hamid Karzai, the pro-Western prime minister in charge of Afghanistan's interim government, will visit the United States next month in a move calculated to strengthen his international standing.

A senior U.S. official also told The Associated Press that the Bush administration intends to contribute $400 million toward an expected $2 billion bill for the first year of long-term reconstruction of the stricken country.

The administration probably will ask Congress for a supplemental appropriation for the $400 million, which is about 20 percent of the $2 billion that reconstruction is expected to cost the first year.

An international donor's conference will be held in Japan Jan. 21-22 to solicit contributions for reconstruction

Karzai will meet with President Bush and thank the American people for their support in forming a post-Taliban government, a White House spokesman said Thursday.

James F. Dobbins, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan, told Karzai shortly after the prime minister took office of "the president's wish to have Mr. Karzai visit Washington," deputy press secretary Scott McClellan said.

The spokesman said an exact date has not yet been set. It will be the first U.S. visit by an Afghan leader in almost 40 years.

Karzai's accession Dec. 22 following five years of rule by the Taliban militia brought to power the first Afghan leader friendly to the United States in a generation.

The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan reopened two weeks ago after being shuttered for 12 years. The last ambassador to serve there was Adolph Dubs, who was killed in a shootout in 1979 after being taken hostage by Islamic radicals.

Karzai is expected to visit Japan later this month for a conference of countries willing to assist in Afghanistan's reconstruction.

A U.S. official raised the possibility that Karzai may travel to the United States after his visit to Japan. It is not clear whether that time frame is convenient for Bush and Karzai, the official said.

Karzai has been a frequent visitor to the United States. In recent years, his visits were aimed at promoting the anti-Taliban cause.